He drove into the lot and parked. Kelly woke and stretched.
Too damned sexy.
He told her to wait in the car while he registered. On the way to the motel's office he passed the empty swimming pool. No one would see him go into the lobby to register.
When they entered the motel room, he took a deep breath. Fresh air, no musty smells like many of the rooms he’d stayed in during his other undercover assignments.
Though the inn was built in a California adobe style, the rooms were themed. The bamboo furniture, upholstered in pink, green and gray floral fabric, had to be someone's misguided idea of Hawaiian décor. A framed picture of Mount Kilauea hung over the queen sized bed. He smiled at the choice of Hawaiian décor in the Spanish architecture motel.
“There’s only one bed.”
“We're lucky they had a room.” He pulled one of the pillows and the bedspread off the bed and threw them onto the maroon wall to wall carpeting. “I'll bunk on the floor.”
“No. I shouldn’t even be here. I should be driving to Lake Tahoe. But I can’t seem keep my eyes focused. But I’m not going to take your bed.”
“I got it for you.”
“If I could just get rid of this headache.” She sat on the bed, lay back and closed her eyes.
He’d let her rest. Did she have a concussion? She seemed alert. Not since his days as an army paramedic in South Korea had he checked for dilated pupils. Even so, in an hour he’d examine her. He set his smart phone alarm. If her condition worsened he'd take her to a hospital emergency room.
He breathed in her feminine scent, then shook off the need to touch her. He shouldn’t be in a motel room with his ex-fiancé’s sexy little sister. He’d have said no to this assignment if anyone but his boss Don McCallum had asked. Years earlier, when he was badly injured in an ambush, his boss had helped him and stuck by him when others suggested he should take disability and an early retirement. He owed Don.
The FBI was looking for information on a thug named Johnny Vega, a gangster connected to organized crime, involved in illegal gambling, money laundering, and now possible espionage.
While attending the University of Nevada’s Reno campus Kelly had become Johnny Vega’s girlfriend. She looked so innocent. But Brick reminded himself she wasn’t as sweet as she appeared, not if she was Johnny’s girl.
Brick’s boss hoped to get a lead on Johnny Vega’s activities through Kelly. Because of his history with Kelly’s sister, he was the FBI’s first choice for this assignment.
It was supposed to be straightforward, stop by the house and explain that he was back in the area. Chat with Carrie and Kelly and direct the conversation to Johnny Vega. Get whatever information he could and leave. He didn’t know what made him drive by the house in the middle of the night. Thank God he had. Now with Kelly in danger, things weren’t so clear-cut anymore.
The soft purring of Kelly’s breathing filled the room as she slept. Her blazer and jeans hung on the back of a chair and her perfectly shaped, bikini clad backside peeked out from under the white sheets.
His blood heated and his body tightened. Restless, he paced the room then looked out the window past the swimming pool to the parking lot. He didn't think anyone knew his car, but it couldn't hurt to play it safe. He’d move the BMW X5 away from their motel room door.
He drove to the other side of the lot and parked behind a massive heritage oak tree. As he walked back to the room he rotated his neck to release the tension in his tightly flexed muscles.
Still asleep, she hadn’t moved since he left the room. He pulled the blackout drapes closed, and stretched out on the maroon carpet. With the pillow fluffed, he pulled the flowered bedspread around him. After the long drive from LA, exhaustion gnawed at him, but thinking about sleeping in the same room as Kelly only increased his tension.
His knee ached, no surprise there. It always did when he didn’t get enough sleep, something that happened too often these days.
The enticing aroma of Kelly’s perfume floated in the air. He forced his eyes closed. A vision of her asleep in the bed, with her rear peeking out from the sheets sent a pang of lust to poke him. Keep your mind on the job. Get the information on Johnny Vega and get the hell out.
***
The intruder turned off the engine and leaned back in the cab of a rented pick-up truck. He twisted the signet ring on his index finger and smiled. He could just see the fender of the X5 parked behind a tree in the parking lot of the El Camino Motel. If he hadn’t seen the SUV pull into the space he would have missed it.
His boss had said, “Let the girl go and follow her. When she feels safe, she’ll get what we want.”
It was just a matter of time until the she retrieved the flash drive. He grinned because he’d be there when she did.
The fear he'd seen in the girl’s eyes sent a sense of power rushing through him. He recalled the feel of her and his breathing quickened. Soon he’d have her trembling against him again. When he did, he’d make her beg to give him anything he wanted. Once he had the flash drive, he could have her. He’d take everything she could give and then make sure her body was never found. A nine millimeter pistol lay on the seat next to him. He reached for the cold steel. It felt good in his hand.
The guy who drove the girl to the motel looked like he could take care of himself. It didn’t matter. He might be a hard ass, but he couldn't out run a bullet.
***
The alarm went off in the motel room darkened by the blackout drapes. Brick forced his eyes open and stretched. Expected pain flared in his right knee. He rubbed it and then limped the short distance to the bed and felt for the bedside lamp.
“Brick?” Kelly raised her hand to cover her eyes from the glare of from the light.
“Yeah.”
“What's wrong?”
“Nothing. I'm going to check your pupils. See if you’re okay. It’ll only take a minute.”
“I’m fine.”
“Yeah, I know, but you’ve got a lump on the back of your head.”
With a penlight he had on his key chain, he checked her pupils' reaction to light. “Eyes look fine.”
“Can I go back to sleep?”
“Humor me and answer a couple of questions.”
“Okay.”
“What day is it?”
“Saturday.” She sat up and adjusted her T-shirt.
He pretended not to notice the curve of her breasts and the tightness of her nipples pressing against the cotton fabric.
She glanced up at him and pulled the white sheet to her chin.
He cleared his throat and forced his gazed to meet hers. “What month is it?”
“June.” She yawned.
She seemed awfully tired. A symptom of head trauma, but considering what she went through last night, exhaustion was to be expected. She roused easily enough and her pupils' were equal and reactive. But to be on the safe side, he decided to continue checking on her every couple of hours.
“Can I sleep now?”
“Go ahead,” he said more gruffly than he meant.
She frowned. “Okay.” She touched the back of her head and moaned.
Anger toward the intruders surged in him. Guilt for not telling her the reason for coming to see her gnawed at him.
She lay down and pulled up the covers.
He set the alarm again and then turned off the light.
In his make-shift bed on the floor, he stared into the darkness.
Three hours later, his alarm went off. Cold and stiff, he rolled to a sitting position.
“Don't even think about turning on a light so you can poke me in the eye. I know what month it is, where I am and the name of the president of the United States. And if you turn on a light and try to jab me in my eyes, I’ll scream.”
“Okay.” He laughed. “Go back to sleep.” This was the spunky female he remembered. She might be sore from her bruises, but she was going to be all right. Finally able to admit his exhaustion, he lay down and let sle
ep overtake him.
Later, light peeked into the room through a slit where the two gaudy pink drapes didn’t meet.
Brick stomach’s growled. He checked his cell, eight in the morning. There was a twenty-four hour supermarket nearby. He could run out and buy a few things then return before Kelly woke up.
He closed the door silently behind him.
***
The intruder gulped the last drop of the putrid coffee he’d bought from a nearby diner. He spit out the grounds and wiped his mouth. Kelly’s protector had just left the motel room. She was alone. He smiled.
Out of the pick-up truck, he jogged to the back of the motel. Through the split in the drapes he peered into a room. The outline of the girl sleeping in bra and panties, the bedding bundled at her feet, could be seen in the early light. Gotcha.
He could grab her right now. Motel door locks couldn’t stop him. While he thought about it, he leaned closer to the window and stared through the slit in the drapes again. Sexy bitch.
***
Kelly moaned. The intruder’s hands were on her again, touching her, pulling her close. His cigarette breath made her stomach lurch. She tried to run. He held her. Pain ran down her arm. Then he kissed her. “No!” she screamed, jerked to a sitting position and opened her eyes. With her hand on her heart, she fought to breathe.
For a moment she didn’t know where she was. Slowly the memory of Brick taking her to the motel returned. The pillow and blanket he’d used were still on the floor. He was nowhere to be seen.
She jumped out of bed. “Are you in there?” She rapped on the bathroom door and it creaked open. Empty. Abandoned. He’d left without a word.
Panic sent a tremor through her.
She glanced back into the motel room. A man stared through the fissure in the drapes. At the same time, the motel door clicked open.
She searched the room for a weapon.
Chapter Three
Brick walked into the room carrying a grocery bag and a cardboard tray with two huge cups of coffee.
Still only dressed in her bra and panties, Kelly stood in the middle of the room. The bedside lamp she’d ripped from the wall plug held high as if it were a weapon. The electrical cord dangled on the floor.
“What the hell Kelly? You planning to hit me?”
“Someone was watching me through the window. I thought he was coming after me.”
Brick’s smile vanished. Before she could say more, he set the grocery bag and the cups of coffee on the floor and ran out the door.
She started to run after him.
“Stay in the room away from the window,” he yelled over his shoulder. When he disappeared, only the traffic sounds on El Camino Real filled the room. She slammed the door and locked it.
Her hands trembled as she pulled on her jeans. She couldn’t stay in the room. What if he needed her? She rushed out the door in the direction he went and bumped right into him.
“I see you can’t follow direction. You were supposed to stay in the room.”
Before she could answer he said, “Doesn’t matter now. The asshole got away. Probably some pervert who hangs around motels. The jerk hopped the back fence and disappeared.” He took a deep breath. “You okay?”
“A little scared.”
Back in the room, she picked up the grocery bag and the paper cups. “Coffee smells good,” she said to change the conversation, feeling foolish because she’d assumed the intruder had found her.
She set things on the table.
Brick yanked strawberry yogurt, blueberry muffins and navel oranges from the bag.
Under ordinary circumstances she’d have welcomed the yogurt. Today, her stomach recoiled at the thought of eating. Even if she wanted something she doubted she could force food down her tightened throat.
She should be driving to Lake Tahoe to get and deliver the flash drive to Agent Simmons. She wanted to mail it to him. He felt it wasn’t safe as someone else could open the package. She’d promised to put it in his hands in personally. Now she found herself in this nightmare.
Brick opened the drapes and sat down at the table. She joined him and watched as he downed two muffins and a container of yogurt. His appetite obviously hadn’t been affected. He peeled an orange and the aroma of citrus filled the room.
She sipped hot coffee content to keep conversation at bay and stared out the window. The morning breeze made white caps on the surface of the water in the swimming pool. The wind mingled with the fog from the hills. In her own fog, she wished the mist would lift and show her if she could trust Brick.
Soon she’d have to answer questions about what happened last night, honest answers. Stress increased the acid in her stomach. Could she answer well enough to satisfy him without bringing up the flash drive or Agent Simmons? Brick had to be convinced so he’d to let her go without talking to the authorities.
She glanced at him as he leaned back in the chair. His lean body was more taut and muscled than it had been years earlier and a tough veneer had aged his incredibly handsome features.
“Feeling better?” He reached for her hand and gently squeezed it.
“Yeah.” She could have told him his touch caused fire to course through her and that she didn't feel better. A feeling she didn't want to define shook her.
He seemed content to continue holding her hand, however, she pulled away. She had to stop the fever he started in her. With both hands, she held the paper cup, the hot coffee cool in comparison to his touch.
Silence filled the room.
He cleared his throat. “Tell me what happened last night.”
She fidgeted with the plastic lid of the cup.
He watched her. She could feel his annoyance and noticed impatience tighten his full lips into a thin line.
She walked to the window. Here in Redwood City, the sun fought to break through the dense mist. Finally, it began to disperse.
Could she let know Brick what was really going on? She wanted to, but living with Johnny Vega had taught her to mistrust people. What if Brick was working with Johnny? Maybe he was here to watch her and report back to him. Improbable as that might seem, her life and Carrie’s life depended on her making the right decision.
“The last time I saw you, you were just a kid. What did you do after high school?”
“What”? The question was so unexpected for a second she didn’t answer.
“After high school?” He prompted and leaned back in the chair his long legs stretched out in front of him, as if he had nothing else to do but enjoy a leisurely conversation.
He was using small talk to put her at ease. It only increased her tension and made her more wary.
“Kelly.”
“I went to the University of Nevada. With the casinos and all, I thought Reno would be exciting. I was wrong.” She hesitated. “I’ve gotten an education all right.” She heard the bitterness in her voice but couldn’t stop it. “I’ve learned how easy it is to be duped by people who tell you they love you. I learned how easy it is to be hurt by people you believed you could trust. I’ve learned how easy it is to lose control of my life. I’ve learned how—oh never mind.”
She turned away in time to wipe a tear before he saw it. She glanced back at him. “Don’t pay any attention to me. I’m upset. None of this is your problem.” She paused as pain throbbed in her right temple. “Did you happen to buy aspirin? I’ve got a killer headache.”
He pulled a bottle out of the bag. “There's a hair brush, a toothbrush, toothpaste and deodorant in there too.”
“Thanks”. She gulped down two aspirin with her coffee.
“I have to take a shower. I want to wash away the touch of those men.” She hesitated. “I didn’t mean to say that out loud.”
He fisted his right hand. “Do you need a doctor? Did they rape you?”
“No. Uh, I’m okay.” She pushed down the memory of tasting the stranger’s blood after she bit him.
Brick frowned and looked down preventing her from readin
g the exposed emotion in his eyes.
“Thanks for helping me yesterday.”
Brick was so near she could touch him, but thought better of it.
Just then he glanced at her and their eyes caught. Raw emotion flamed in his expression. What did it mean?
With the bag under her arm, she ran into the bathroom.
In the shower stall, she let the hot water pound her stressed muscles.
She cursed herself for getting involved with Johnny Vega. Even though she’d been warned by friends that he was mob connected and to stay away from him, she’d let his charming smile entice her. The Mob meant nothing to her at that time. It was a figment of Hollywood’s imagination. A TV show to entertain the masses.
Johnny wanted her. After the accidental death of her parents, she’d needed someone to care about her. At first he’d been kind and caring. He’d made her feel beautiful. She’d been vulnerable. She knew that now. But then she’d believed he loved her. She laughed at her own stupidity.
Soon she’d learned the concern he showed her in public was just veneer? In private she found a cruel, sadistic man and discovered what terror felt like. Love and hate were two sides of the same emotion and she realized the dire consequences for crossing him.
Even under the flow of hot water she shivered. You’re free of him now. Don’t think about Johnny.
She turned off the spray and towel dried. She brushed her hair with the new brush Brick had given her. Her hair was just long enough to hide most of the purple bruising on her shoulder.
Dressed in a white tank top, blue jeans, she stepped into the dark leather flats.
“The bathroom's all yours,” she said as she entered the bedroom.
***
The masculine scent of shaving cream wafted into the room when Brick opened the bathroom door. Water glistened in his short blonde hair. His facial stubble was gone.
Her gaze traveled from his navy runners to his blue jeans. She tracked his long muscular legs and followed them to the tapered waist that led to his muscled torso. His broad shoulders were draped in a navy blue polo shirt.
Shattered Rules Page 2